The
death of Joseph Smith on June 27, 1844, marked a turning point for the
Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of
Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for
President of the United States. He was killed while jailed in
Carthage, Illinois, on charges relating to his ordering the destruction of facilities producing the
Nauvoo Expositor, a newspaper whose first and only edition revealed Smith was practicing
polygamy and claimed that he intended to set himself up as a
theocratic king. Smith voluntarily surrendered to the authorities at the county seat at Carthage to face the charges against him. While he was in jail awaiting trial, an armed mob of men with painted faces stormed the jail and shot him and his brother
Hyrum to death. Latter Day Saints generally view Joseph and Hyrum as
martyrs.